In this catalogue the type specimens of Decapod Crustacea in the collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum are listed in systematic order. Some lectotypes have been designated. The history of the collection is described. The first appendix lists all specimens in the dry collection collected before 1900. In the second appendix the pre-1900 sources of crustacean material in the collection are listed alphabetically; short biographies and portraits of collectors are given. An index to scientific names is added.